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• Are churches that have Sunday school classes, daycare centers, or kindergartens regulated under the Asbestos Emergency Response Act (AHERA)?

  The Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) applies to public and private non-profit elementary and secondary schools. The term ‘non-profit elementary or secondary school’ means any elementary or secondary school as defined in section 198 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

  • Last published: April 25, 2022

• Do the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) requirements in 40 CFR part 763 mandating routine facility inspections and management plan development apply to for-profit private schools as they apply in public K-12 schools?

  AHERA requirements for facility inspections and management plan development do not apply to for-profit private schools, but they do apply to non-profit private K-12 schools. This exemption for private for-profit schools was directly mandated in the enabling legislation (the AHERA statute). Other

  • Last published: April 26, 2022

• Does EPA certify/register or provide lists of acceptable air cleaners or manufacturers/sellers?

  EPA does not certify or register air cleaning devices. The Agency does not recommend air cleaning devices or manufacturers. If you need information on specific devices or manufacturers, one resource you can consult is: The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) 1111 19th Street, NW

  • Last published: April 26, 2022

• If EPA finds any contamination associated with the Norwood Landfill site that “exceeds” what is considered safe, will EPA clean up that contamination - even if the Agency cannot find any “pathways” for that contamination to reach humans or sensitive environments?

  If the sampling data shows an exceedance of a screening level, EPA will consult with the site Toxicologist and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to conduct a human health risk screening assessment to determine any potential threat to human health. EPA will also consult

  • Last published: April 20, 2022

• Contamination

  A physical, chemical, biological, and/or radiological substance or matter that has an adverse effect on air, water, or soil quality.

  • Last published: April 20, 2022

• How do you know you are not missing some areas that might be contaminated?

  EPA uses all credible information available, including community input, regarding the boundaries and geographic areas of waste that may have been deposited or where contaminated soil may have been placed. The team selects its sampling locations based on those areas and consults historic aerial

  • Last published: April 20, 2022

• Exposure Pathway

  The way in which a person can come into contact with a hazardous substance. Three common routes of exposure are breathing (inhalation); eating or drinking (ingestion); or contact to the skin (dermal contact).

  • Last published: April 20, 2022

• May EPA employees identify their expertise or their place of work in their personal social media accounts or will doing so give the impression that they are speaking on behalf of the Agency?

  This answer depends on the individual facts of the situation. Generally speaking, federal ethics rules prevent employees from using their official titles, positions, and authority for their own private gain or the gain of others1. Employees must avoid using their titles or positions in any manner

  • Last published: May 2, 2022

• Do the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) requirements apply to charter schools that provide online elementary and secondary education through learning centers and/or directly in the home?

  If the charter school providing online education is considered an elementary or secondary school under relevant state law and the facility where such online education is located qualifies as a “school building” under AHERA, then that same charter school’s learning center would also be covered by the

  • Last published: April 26, 2022

• Do the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) requirements for inspection and reinspection of school buildings for asbestos-containing building materials (ACBM) apply to newly installed building materials in school buildings?

  Generally, the AHERA initial inspection and subsequent reinspection requirements do not apply to building materials installed after an initial inspection. If, however, an entirely new structure is being added to an existing school (e.g. a new wing or new building), this new structure does have to

  • Last published: May 3, 2022

• Does EPA’s RadNet monitoring network track non-ionizing radiation from power lines, transmitters, or cell phone towers?

  The EPA’s RadNet monitoring network is designed to track fluctuations in airborne radioactive particles. RadNet does not track non-ionizing radiation that comes from power lines, transmitters, or cell phone networks like 5G.

  • Last published: April 29, 2022

• What are the rules about working with non-federal entities and individuals, such as influencers, during live social media broadcasts?

  Assuming that EPA officials are serving in their official capacity, then OGC Ethics suggests, at a minimum, that the non-federal entity be reminded of the following restrictions: No endorsement of products, services, or enterprises of non-federal entities. The live broadcast cannot be used as a

  • Last published: May 2, 2022

• What emissions data are available for 2018 and 2019?

  EPA has NEI point source data for 2018 and 2019, available upon request by using the Contact Us form, and selecting "Point Sources." Note that some of these sources reuse 2017 data by carrying it forward, but many sources have updated values in these interim year datasets. Emissions inventories and

  • Last published: May 5, 2022

• How do I use MOVES at Project Scale?

  See More Frequent Questions about MOVES and Related Models. The MOVES model can estimate emissions at national, county or project scale. Project scale is useful for estimating an individual transportation project like an intersection or transit project, but it requires detailed inputs that

  • Last published: May 12, 2022

• What units does EPA use to report laboratory analysis results (drinking water, air filter and precipitation)?

  EPA reports RadNet laboratory results in conventional units, as shown below with their international equivalents: Medium Conventional unit International SI unit Air Filter Curie (Ci) per cubic meter (m3) Becquerel (Bq) per cubic meter (m3) Precipitation and drinking water Curie (Ci) per liter (L)

  • Last published: May 13, 2022